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Soon enough, football fans will be able to attach both a name and a face to Ottawa's CFL team.

Expect the face to come first, as early as next week.

While fans are quibbling over possible team names, Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group's Jeff Hunt has been grilling potential candidates to be Ottawa's first GM.

The interviews are done and four men are still standing: Montreal Alouettes assistant GM Marcel Desjardins, former Hamilton Tiger-Cats assistant GM Joe Womack, former Ticats and Gee-Gees coach Marcel Bellefeuille and a candidate from the U.S. with a background in the CFL.

That unknown candidate is not Lionel Vital, a former CFL player who rose up the front-office ranks with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and earlier this week was named the team's director of player personnel.

"It was a situation there that was too good for him to leave," said Hunt, who has been putting plenty of time and thought into such a major decision.

"Symbolically, the naming of the GM is more important than finding a name," added Hunt. "Maybe there's more of a sense of urgency given the tremendous challenges that person will have.

"My personal deadline has always been the end of the month, so basically we've got two weeks to make up our minds. We've got to make a decision within the next week. It isn't like we just decide this is our guy. There's a negotiating mode and that can take time.

"There will be no stone left unturned. If not every GM in the CFL, I've talked to nearly every one, I've talked to guys I respect in the NFL ... (Atlanta Falcons GM) Thomas Dimitroff has been of great assistance. I've talked to guys in the media, agents ... there's no constituency we haven't talked to."

It isn't like the guy who walks into the GM's shoes here has a lot to work with. There isn't a player under contract, no free agents to deal with, no front-office personnel to lean on ... nobody.

"We're in a unique situation," said Hunt. "The general manager is not coming into a ready-made team environment. As an expansion team, we don't even have a notepad or stapler. The GM will have to build this football team from scratch."

Through this whole process, Hunt has been getting plenty of counsel from the extremely well-connected and knowledgeable Dan Rambo, a former CFL GM and co-owner of database scouting program FBXchange.

"Dan has been a tremendous asset to us, working tirelessly on our behalf. He's been involved in the interviews ... he's been my wingman," said Hunt.

The speculation will end soon enough, but are there smoke and mirrors to this whole procedure, given the high quality of candidates?

Let me toss this out there: Desjardins as GM, Womack as assistant GM and Bellefeuille as coach ... three highly thought-of football guys, all on board. On many levels, it makes plenty of sense, though it won't necessarily go down that way.

"I wouldn't eliminate any scenario at this point," said Hunt. "These are all well-respected people. We have four solid, solid candidates who all have their merits and their strengths. But we can't hire four guys. If there's a role one of them could play other than a GM, that's up to the GM we hire. There's an evolution of things. We put a GM in place and he starts assembling.

"The head coach might be one of our last hires, probably next year at this time."

While fans are getting their boxers in a knot over the team name, Hunt's a bit tightly wound over his biggest decision, finding that right guy to lead the team.

"I feel an enormous amount of pressure to get it right," said Hunt. "The whole group feels that pressure. We want to get a guy who does the community and the team proud. The stakes are high."

BIOS

JOE WOMACK

Earlier this week, dismissed from Hamilton Tiger-Cats where he was the assistant GM. Joined Ticats after four seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Prior to that, the Baton Rouge, La.m native spent eight years in the NFL as a scout with the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins and the NFL Combine.

As a player in the 1970s, he suited up with the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Calgary Stampeders, the NFL's Denver Broncos as well as World Football League teams in Chicago and San Antonio.

MARCEL DESJARDINS

Born in Burlington, he has been assistant GM of the Montreal Alouettes since 2008. GM of Hamilton in 2007. Began working with Als in 1999 after working at CFL head office, where he co-ordinated player-personnel related matters for five years. His experience in the sports industry prior to joining the CFL included tenures with the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL and the Canada Games Council.

MARCEL BELLEFEUILLE

Ottawa native was head coach of Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 2008-11. Also coached in CFL with Saskatchewan and Montreal. Head coach of the Gee-Gees from 1998-2000. Helped out with the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League last season, but league suspended operations after four games.